Isparta Province

Isparta Province (Turkish: Isparta ili) is a province in southwestern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Afyon to the northwest, Burdur to the southwest, Antalya to the south, and Konya to the east. It has an area of 8,993 km² and a population of 448,298 up from 434,771 (1990). The provincial capital is Isparta.

The province is well known for its apples, sour cherries, grapes, roses and rose products, and carpets. The best fertile lands are in the area named Uluborlu. The province is situated in the Göller Bölgesi (Lakes Area) of Turkey's Mediterranean Region and has many freshwater lakes.

Districts

Isparta province is divided into 13 districts (capital district in bold):

Sites of interest

Kovada Lake and Kızıldağ National Parks, Isparta Gölcüğü, Çamyol and Kuyucak forest recreation areas, Eğirdir oak and Sütçüler forest conservation areas, Eğirdir, Uluborlu and Yalvaç castles, Antiochia in Pisidia and Apollonia antiquity cities, Ertokuş and Dündar Bey old theological schools (medrese), Isparta Hızır Bey, Kutlu Bey, Firdevs Bey, İplik, Eğirdir Hızır Bey, Barla Çaşnigir, Uluğbey Veli Baba mosques, Firdevs Bey Bazaar, Eğirdir Inn (caravansary), Ertokuş Hanı Inn, Baba Sultan Mousoleum, Isparta and Yalvaç Museums.

Isparta

Isparta (Greek: Σπάρτη, also Baris/Βάρις in Byzantine Greek) is a city in western Turkey and the capital of Isparta Province. The city's population was 222,556 in 2010 and its elevation is 1035 m. It is also known as the "City of Roses".

The main economic activities of Isparta are the production of rose water and handmade carpets. Tourism, both local and increasingly international due to "biblical tourism", is also becoming an important source of revenue for the city. Süleyman Demirel University has introduced thousands of youths from various backgrounds to the city's mostly conservative fabric in the recent years. The city's football team, Ispartaspor, currently plays in Group 7 of the Turkish Regional Amateur League.

Some historical buildings and houses remain from the 19th century, but are rare compared to the number of modern buildings. There are several important mosques in Isparta, including the pre-Ottoman Hızır Bey Mosque (c. 1325), the Kutlubey or Ulu (Grand) Mosque (1429, with major restorations made in the 19th century) and Hacı Abdi Mosque (1569). The city also boasts a mosque by the Ottoman Royal Architect Mimar Sinan - the 16th century's Firdevs Pasa mosque. This mosque is also known as Mimar Sinan Mosque. There are several remains of Greek Orthodox churches from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods (14th-19th century). The Byzantine fortress is mostly in ruins. The city lies close to a fault line and is thus prone to violent earthquakes.

Isparta (electoral district)

Isparta is an electoral district of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. It elects four members of parliament (deputies) to represent the province of the same name for a four-year term by the D'Hondt method, a party-list proportional representation system.

Members

Population reviews of each electoral district are conducted before each general election, which can lead to certain districts being granted a smaller or greater number of parliamentary seats.

Isparta returned four MPs during the 1999 parliamentary election. five MPs during the parliamentary elections in 2002 and 2007. In 2011, the number of seats again fell to four.

Isparta is famous for being the constituency from which Süleyman Demirel, the 12th Prime Minister of Turkey and the 9th President of Turkey, was elected to parliament as leader of the Justice Party and later the True Path Party during the 1960-90s.

General elections

2011

Presidential elections

2014

References

Coordinates: 37°50′N 34°45′E / 37.833°N 34.750°E / 37.833; 34.750